Chapter 3

Arya

The next morning, the syndicate's internal network blew up.

The audit committee published the missing funds report, and everyone in our district knew someone was robbing the family blind.

Since I had already agreed to take the fall, the investigators hauled me straight into the backroom office. But before I could even open my mouth to confess, Chiara beat me to it.

She had rushed to the council room, throwing herself into a theatrical sob in front of the armed capos.

"I trusted her!" Chiara wailed, burying her face in Maria's chest right before Don Vito, "I found out Arya was stealing from the syndicate's slush fund, and when I tried to stop her, she threatened to frame me! She's a thief!"

The bosses started murmuring, glaring daggers at the empty chair where I was supposed to sit.

Matteo didn't waste a second. He kicked my door off its hinges, yanked me out of bed by the collar, and dragged me down the hallway like a sack of garbage.

"The whole Council thinks Chiara is the thief because of your sloppy cover-up!" Matteo thundered. "Get down there and confess right now before Don Vito loses his patience!"

He didn't give a single shit that my skin was gray and I could barely breathe. He shoved me hard onto the floor, right at my father's feet.

My head spun back into the past. How did I end up with these animals?

Five years ago, the night my family threw me out into a freezing downpour, I thought my life was over.

Then Matteo found me.

He pulled his car over, threw his leather jacket over my shaking shoulders, and handed me hot coffee while I sobbed. Back then, he looked at me like I was his whole world. He swore on his gun that he'd kill anyone who touched me, and he hated Chiara without even meeting her.

When did he turn into a scumbag?

Was it when Chiara started hanging around his office acting helpless? Was it when she grabbed his arm during dinners while I sat across from them like a ghost?

The guy who promised to protect me became the hitman for the person I hated most.

I thought the betrayal would kill me. But standing here with one foot in the grave, I didn't even have the energy to care.

"Shut the fuck up," I whispered, pulling myself up from the floor. "I'll take the blame. I'm the one who stole the money."

The room went dead silent.

The chief auditor stared at me, dumbfounded. My parents exchanged a look of profound, ugly relief.

"Well. About damn time you admitted it," my mother sneered, crossing her arms. "For a second, I thought you actually corrupted your sister."

"See?" my father grunted, leaning forward in his chair and eyeing me with cold contempt. "That's how a real Falcone acts. She's finally owning up to her mess like a mature adult. Next time, keep your criminal impulses in check, Arya."

Guilt flickered in Matteo's eyes, but he buried it fast behind his tough-guy mask. He stepped over, patting my shoulder awkwardly.

"You're still tied to me by contract, Arya," he muttered quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "Even if Don strips your rank for embezzlement, I'll make sure you got a room somewhere. You won't starve."

I didn't smile. There was no tomorrow for me, let alone a room with him.

Chiara stepped forward, holding her phone out with trembling, tearful fingers, playing the part of the magnanimous sister for the district's secure stream.

"I never dreamed my own twin sister would steal from our family and try to blame me..." she sobbed into the camera, squeezing out two fake tears.

She shoved the screen right in my face, making sure I looked into the lens.

I looked straight into the camera, completely dead inside.

"Chiara's telling the truth," I recited flatly. "I skimmed the accounts. She had nothing to do with it. I'm the thief."

A collective wave of relief hit the room. Don Vito accepted the confession, instantly stripping my rank and cutting off my dividends as punishment for treasonous theft.

Later that evening, while my parents and Matteo crowded around Chiara to dote on her, Chiara slipped away from the table.

She walked over to the dark corner where I was standing, waiting for my body to give out.

Her tears vanished instantly, replaced by a razor-thin, venomous grin.

She leaned in close, her lips barely moving as she hissed right into my ear:

"You took the fall and saved my skin, didn't you? Too bad everyone thinks you're just a criminal trash-bag now. The money is in my offshore account, the family loves me, and Matteo is mine. You're going to die in a dirt hole, Arya, and nobody will ever give a damn."